…apprehends British ex-convict, 22, with large drug haul at lagos airport
…seizes 3,047kg of cannabis in Niger, 775 litres of codeine in Kano during statewide raids
By Nkechi Eze
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended a female suspect at the Port Harcourt International Airport while she attempted to smuggle cocaine disguised under a hijab and concealed within her body and belongings.
The suspect, Ihensekhien Miracle Obehi, was arrested on Sunday, 3rd May 2025, while trying to board a Qatar Airways flight to Iran via Doha. According to the Director of Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, she was intercepted at the airport’s departure lounge based on actionable intelligence. A thorough search revealed three wraps of cocaine hidden in her private parts, two larger parcels concealed in false compartments of her handbag, and 67 pellets she had ingested.
Following her arrest, she was placed under close observation and eventually excreted the swallowed drug pellets over four sessions. She reportedly intended to swallow 70 pellets but was only able to ingest 67, opting to insert the remaining three in her body. The combined weight of all the cocaine discovered totaled 2.523 kilograms.
In a similar operation at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA officials arrested a 22-year-old British national, Campell Kaizra Kofi Johannes Slifer, arriving from Thailand with 35 parcels of Loud a potent strain of cannabis packed in two suitcases. The seized drugs weighed 37.60kg. Campell confessed to previous convictions for drug trafficking and robbery in the UK and said he had been recruited in London to collect the drugs in Thailand and deliver them to Nigeria.
In Niger State, a fuel tanker and three other vehicles were intercepted along the Suleja-Kaduna road on 7th May. The vehicles were loaded with 246 bags of skunk weighing a total of 3,047kg. Four suspects Christopher Onyema (47), Benedict Etineruba Young (54), Chukwudi Ujue Jerry (30), and Mohammed Abdullahi Danasabe were arrested. The seized vehicles included two Honda Odyssey buses and a Gulf bus.
In Lagos, a raid in the Oja Amukoko area on 8th May led to the arrest of Eze Chekube Emmanuel and Ike Samuel Chinyerem, with 109,914 pills of tramadol, swinol, and nitrazepam. Meanwhile, in Kaduna, two suspects Lukman Sabo Umar (23) and Tukur Ammadu (20) were caught in Gwantu with 52.5kg of skunk concealed in a bus.
Kwara State officers patrolling the Bode Saadu-Jebba expressway arrested one Rufai Nasiru on 5th May with 45,400 tablets of tramadol (225mg). In Bauchi, officers intercepted a Toyota Tundra along the Bauchi-Gombe road carrying 505kg of skunk. Two suspects, Isaac Onogure (37) and Ikechukwu Peter (44), were arrested.
In Kano, a raid at Rijiyar Zaki on 10th May yielded 31 kegs containing 775 litres of codeine syrup. Two suspects Hafizu Isa Uman (34) and Ismail Shehu (48) were taken into custody. In another operation on 6th May, NDLEA officers at a Lagos-based courier service intercepted 1.1kg of Loud hidden in a pillow shipped from Thailand.
Simultaneously, the NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities continued across Nigeria, including lectures at Federal Government College, Sokoto; Deeper Life International College, Nteje; Martins Sanda Girls Science College, Paikoro; Restoration Power International School, Idua Eket; and a session with the League of Imams and Alfas at Iseyin Central Mosque, Oyo State.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers from various commands including MMIA, PHIA, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi, Kwara, and Niger for their effective enforcement efforts, urging continued balance between drug supply reduction and demand reduction strategies.
